PICTURES: Community and flavours as food festival returns
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Nairn showcased the very best in local food and drink with the return of the popular Taste of Nairn event for a third time at the weekend.
From fresh fruit and veg to desserts, cooking demos and competitions, the festival had something for every taste on its return to the seaside town.
The event, organised by Nairn BID, saw hundreds of people descending on the Nairn Community and Arts Centre over the two days to find out what more than 45 local businesses had to offer.
Nairn BID manager Lucy Harding was delighted with the turnout: “We have had a fabulous weekend not just at the community centre but at other events across the town. One event that we know of sold out their stock in an hour and other premises, we are told, have been really busy.”
Among a long list of events taking place around the town, the weekend saw a new World Tattie Scone Champion and Showstopper cake winners named on Saturday and Sunday, with Gary Grant lifting the former title and Sarah Hollifield and nine-year-old Isla MacLennan grabbing first place for their cakes in the adult and junior categories of that competition.
Mr Grant, a chef from Elgin who works off-shore, said: “It was a great experience, I like to be creative and it is great that the judges recognised that. I am speechless. The trophy will take pride of place in my house. I will definitely be back next year.”
The Bandstand Hotel & Bar, hosted a ‘Senegal Experience,’ with African cuisine, BBQ and drumming performance.
Paul said: “We were mad busy the whole day. We had lots of guests from outside Nairn and quite a few when they came in, commented that they had come straight from the community centre. The cuisine and drumming was hugely popular and the whole event has certainly worked for us.”
Elaine Sutherland, of Oakwood Cookery School who sponsored and organised the tattie scone contest said: “The championship is always such good fun. There are those who spend a lot of time practising beforehand and come along with their own equipment, and there are those who just pitch up on the day and give it a whirl. Sometimes, it is the latter who impress the judges. However, Gary had clearly given it a lot of thought and he really wowed the judges with his creation. Not only because it tasted spectacular, but his presentation was amazing as well.”
Rhona Patterson, editor of Lifestyle Magazine – sponsors of the cake competition – said: “Once again it was such a tough decision. The standard of cakes was excellent and the detail was amazing. It was particularly difficult to make the choice between the junior entries. The work they put in was outstanding. Congratulations to all the winners.”
